Last year I mentioned 毛虫 in the orientation lecture I did
for the ALTs coming into my prefecture. It was part of a section on annoyances
and dangers, and I told them all to stay away from the hairy caterpillars. I’d
never seen one, so it was pretty hypothetical. In English 毛虫 seems to translate as either Pine Processionary Caterpillars or Oak Processionary Caterpillars (closely related).
Fast forward to last week, and
the hedge beside my carport was crawling with the cute but scary little
buggers(sorry, I can’t resist EVERY
pun!).
Forgive the blur, I was in a hurry to get away from them... but see how close they are to my bike?!
At first I thought that they wouldn’t be an issue if we stayed away from
them and didn’t provoke their defensive mechanism. I started to get more
worried after the vice principal at one of my schools told me to stop parking
Rothbart under the trees because 毛虫 might fall on the seat. He said
that if they left hairs on the seat and I sat on in, the effects would hit me
while I was on the road and “terrible things will happen”. I didn’t know they
could penetrate clothing. Then the next day at another school, the garden area
was closed off with a big “Danger! 毛虫!” sign and exterminators were
called in.
They were everywhere
“Right” I thought, “I need to refresh myself on what the deal is
with these guys.” I did a quick google and found story after story of dogs
dying in Spain and Portugal after getting the hairs in their mouths and
throats. It sends the tongue narcotic and closes the airways. The man person
suggested that the European ones might be more dangerous, but the pictures
looked the same.
So little, but I hear that terrible things will happen
Then I found one on my bike seat, and the same day a whole
bunch of them started having a little procession (processing? processionaling?) across the front door. I
went out and bought some pesticide.
My decision may have come too late for this poor bush, sadly
Good bye, hairy little caterpillars.
Can anyone tell me, are the Japanese ones REALLY that dangerous?
Saw this on toxic caterpillars. Use non-toxic castile soap mixed in water as an insect repellent in organic garden; it works on everything. Also use orange oil mixed in water to repel ants; which works: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/nature/news-ten-creepy-and-colorful-caterpillar-hazardous-human-health
Thank you, that sounds really useful. I just planted a small garden and it is already getting destroyed by insects but I don't want to use any chemicals that could hurt my dogs or the birds who eat the insects.
Thanks for the heads up. I haven't seen one, but I'm sure Tsukahara has them. This place seems to have every creepy, crawly insect known. In the fall, they have these really cool glow in the dark wormy things. I believe they are immature fire flies.
I heard that Kawanishi puts on quite a show of lights. Ajimu also has quite a few fireflies. Tsukahara has some lights, but they hang out near the river. The firefly larvae seem to be everywhere in the fall. It's fun to walk the dogs in the late evening and look for glow in the dark wormy things. It makes me feel like a kid again.
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Saw this on toxic caterpillars. Use non-toxic castile soap mixed in water as an insect repellent in organic garden; it works on everything. Also use orange oil mixed in water to repel ants; which works: http://www.environmentalgraffiti.com/nature/news-ten-creepy-and-colorful-caterpillar-hazardous-human-health
ReplyDeleteThank you, that sounds really useful. I just planted a small garden and it is already getting destroyed by insects but I don't want to use any chemicals that could hurt my dogs or the birds who eat the insects.
DeleteThanks for the heads up. I haven't seen one, but I'm sure Tsukahara has them. This place seems to have every creepy, crawly insect known. In the fall, they have these really cool glow in the dark wormy things. I believe they are immature fire flies.
ReplyDeleteDoes that mean you have lots of fireflies around this time of year? It sounds idyllic, I hope we get a chance to come visit you soon!
DeleteNot just for the fireflies, of course!
DeleteI heard that Kawanishi puts on quite a show of lights. Ajimu also has quite a few fireflies. Tsukahara has some lights, but they hang out near the river. The firefly larvae seem to be everywhere in the fall. It's fun to walk the dogs in the late evening and look for glow in the dark wormy things. It makes me feel like a kid again.
ReplyDelete